Enclosed are the ramblings of one of the last of the baby-boomers. My thoughts are of Railroading, Automobiles, Design, Politics, Culture, Religion,and Parenthood.

Mile Post 370

Mile Post 370

Monday, June 27, 2016

Project GEZROKET - "You have papers?" - A Story About Excellence in Customer Service.

When you purchase a car, there are many papers to sign, in order to transfer legal ownership from the seller to the buyer. It was also this way with GEZROKET, however when the owner of a car lets the tag expire, there is another fly in the ointment. In the state in which I reside, the car must be inspected and the taxes can be paid BEFORE a license plate can be assigned.

Normally, this shouldn't be a problem, but there are lots of people buying and selling cars and most don't know or understand the law. This is compounded by a seemingly complex process that most people don't know anything about. A car is, after all, a major purchase and most of us aren't blessed with enough money to purchase cars every year,or even every third year. Additionally, the license plate renewal offices in my current state are privately owned, limiting the "talent pool" of employees by salary the employers are willing to pay. It's boring, mind numbing work for the employees, because most of their customers don't know/understand the process and it easily frustrates them. Finally, as Obamacare has been compared to a cross between going to the doctor and going to the DMV, you understand that EVERYONE has a poor opinion about what is going to happen when you go in to get the paperwork transferred, conferring ownership for that new car. It might be dreaded even more than going to the dentist.

It does not necessarily have to be a bad experience, but it's exceptionally bad in my small town, where the clerks were more interested in going home at 5:00 PM, rather than helping a customer, who'd been in line before 4:30 PM. But, in the county seat about 10 miles up the road, it turned out to be A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE. I met "Ms. Brittany," a 20-something year old young lady who was the trifecta of talent, being 1) professional, 2)knowledgeable, and 3) very efficient. She was EXCELLENT in the performance of her job and we spent less time on the transaction than we did in the fast moving line (with talent like this, the individual DMV Contractors in my state could change the DMV experience in to a positive one, but this girl should easily be able to get a higher paying customer service job, with any major business in the US). When we got to her kiosk, we presented her with the bill of sale, the receipt of the cashiers check (with which I paid for the car) and the notarized title, transferring the title to me. In looking at the information that was given to her and on her PC, she saw that the registration had lapsed. This required me to get the car inspected before a license plate could bee issued to me. So we had to:

Pay for the property taxes on the vehicle (based on the valuation by the state - NO ONE EVER CHEATS THE TAX MAN OUT OF HIS DUE MONEY).

We had to pay for a 10-Day Temporary (paper) Tag and

We had to pay for the Title Transfer Fee

Now there is a small wrinkle or two here. First, I would have to get the car inspected. As it's a first year OBD-II (On Board Diagnosis, v.2) car (1996), it would need the Emissions and Safety Inspection required by the Federal Government for vehicles in the Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (for air pollution, under the Environmental Protection Agency) my state. Next year, having past 20 years of age, the car will no longer require an Emissions Inspection (or a waiver, when the cost to repair the vehicle exceeds a certain amount). Secondly, as I alluded to in an earlier post, due to a neighbor accidentally backing into the car, with the amount of the repair to the grille, hood and headlights, exceeding the insurance company value of the car, the car was declared to be a total loss. Mrs. Blaney purchased the car back from the Insurance Company as a Salvaged Vehicle, to have it repaired. I went in to this transaction knowing that he car had a Salvage Title.

We left the DMV at the county seat with a 10-Day tag, happy at the extraordinary customer service and easily got the car inspected (my Actron U-Scan had shown no MIL Codes in the PCM and the car ran well).

Returning to the same DMV within the 10-day expiration period for the paper tag, with a passed Emissions and Safety Inspection (and an over all clean bill of health for the GEZROKET-"Per Jeff Davis, "You didn't get hurt on the purchase. The car is a little 'damp' under it on both the oil and transmission pans. It's about what I expected, with the car having sat unused for the 6 months before you got it. Watch the fluids for a few weeks and you'll know if it's leaking anything."), all we had to do was pay for a permanent tag. I got a standard issue state tag (not a vanity tag...yet).

Special (although late - I was back later, on business, and did ask her name to give credit unbeknownst to her) Kudos to "Ms. Brittany," who has shown that a trip to the DMV doesn't require a Fifth of your favorite Spirits after it's over with. Her Manager will sorely miss her one day, when she's recruited to another higher paying position at another company.

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About Me

I'm one of the last of the Baby Boomers, married to another one of them. We live in middle class suburbia, in what used to be a small town, but is now a bedroom community of a City large enough to have a professional sports team.
We've raised 2 kids the old fashioned way, with my wife staying at home on a middle class income, while paying off debt. She home schooled both of them thanks to liberal home school laws , (however, we had to have them End of Grade Tested Each Year). We're politically conservative, Reformed Church Followers and Disciples of Christ. trying to live our lives with purpose.
I'm just trying to keep my head down and not bother anyone, but be available when someone needs me.